As for the Wynton Kelly record and the Julius Watkins record… They aren’t perfect, but they aren’t awful. The Wynton Kelly record is the rougher of the two… It was $75, and has some scuffs and scratches. No skips or sticks, of course, but it ticks a bit in the first song (I think it was the first song… I should listen to it again). I’m not sure what the normal background noise level is for pre-RVG 10″ records (if there normally is any), but it does have some noise, which is particularly unfortunate due to it being a piano, bass, and drums recording. The noise isn’t easily covered up by a saxophone. (Not criticizing the recording, just saying that saxophones can cover a lot of background noise.) The cover is better, but still has some splitting at the top, a few notes written on the back, and some unfortunate sticker staining. It’s not in awful shape, but it’s not great. The Julius Watkins record was $125, and is in better shape. It has scuffs, but not many scratches. It sounds better, with less background noise. Sadly, the cover faired worse, with a taped split all along the bottom and some tears on the back. It does, however, have a KJAZ stamp on the back… Apparently it used to live in Berkeley before heading back to New York, and then was returned to the Bay Area (I’m in Santa Rosa, and yeah, my collection survived the fires…). So… $200 isn’t as amazing a deal as it sounds. Still, though… Seeing how crazy eBay is right now, I’d probably get about $400 if I sold them, which I won’t. They’re still quite playable, even if the condition is a bit mediocre. The Jazz Record Center seems to only include excellent copies of records in their auctions, and I suspect these didn’t make the cut.

I guess I should just confess that I’m a bit small-time in terms of collectors. I’m pretty new to this, and I’m only 21. I don’t mind a bit of noise, since I got my vinyl appreciation from playing with dad’s collection when I was younger (I think his college roommate used record stackers, if you get my drift), and my pockets aren’t deep enough to afford the top shelf stuff. I have to rely on lesser copies or record employee oversights… My other favourite scores involve a pretty serviceable first pressing of Palo Congo that I found in the dollar bin, and the day I gazed up at the rare records wall and saw fairly nice original copies of Lou Takes Off and ‘Round About Midnight At The Cafe Bohemia sitting there with price tags of $60 and $100. That was a very good day indeed. But yeah, a lot of this stuff is a bit rich for my blood. Sorry for inadvertently jacking up prices by fighting over the lesser copies… I just really love the music, and there’s nothing quite like holding the very first pressing of one of these albums, putting the needle down, and hearing a piece of history just fill the room, perhaps with a bit of background noise here and there. It’s sublime.

I paid a visit to the Jazz Record Center when I was in New York City for the first time in the summer… It’s an interesting store. It’s in a room on the 8th floor of a building, and took a while to find (judging by their auctions, I was foolishly expecting some kind of grand building full of boxes upon boxes of beautiful vinyl with a glorious sea of isles of records in between, with the Ark of the Covenant sitting in a corner somewhere). It may have been a little hot and slightly cramped in there, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t leave with a Wynton Kelly 10″ (5025) and a Julius Watkins 10″ (5053) for $200 plus tax. Not bad. If I’m out across the continent again, I’ll stop by again. Seeing all the old Blue Note buildings was cool, too, although I was hoping at least one would have a mural, or something…